Company
Portfolio Data
Back to Company SearchAKTIWAVE LLC
UEI: RDH5DA32ELT8
Number of Employees: 3
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
SBIR/STTR Involvement
Year of first award: 2018
5
Phase I Awards
1
Phase II Awards
20%
Conversion Rate
$697,695
Phase I Dollars
$748,978
Phase II Dollars
$1,446,673
Total Awarded
Awards
Design and Fabrication of Arrayed Waveguide Grating Using Ultrafast Laser Inscription
Amount: $149,766 Topic: T8
The proposed project aims to use ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) technology to improve the fabrication flexibility and versatility of a critical photonic component, arrayed waveguide grating (AWGs). The fabricated AWGs can be directly integrated with other ULI-based photonics devices, such as waveguide lasers, photonic lanterns, and modulators, realizing monolithic transmitters. This direct on-chip integration will eliminate fiber-optic coupling and reduce both the time and cost associated with the traditional lithography fabrication method.Iterative design, simulation, and ULI fabrication of the building blocks for realizing an ULI-based AWG will be performed. Initially, straight, curved, tapered, and slab waveguides will be designed and simulated using photonics simulation software. The waveguides will then be fabricated using the ULI technology; the feedback obtained from the characterization process will be used to refine the simulation models and fabrication parameters to achieve the desired sub-system performance. The optimized design and simulation results for these building blocks will be used as the input parameters to design, simulate and fabricate a four-channel AWG with 400-GHz channel spacing at a center wavelength of 1550 nm.The ULI-based, low SWaP PIC technology will be useful for NASA in lidar receivers for new Earth Science measurements such as the detection of carbon monoxide, free-space laser communications, mid-infrared heterodyne spectroscopy, and astrophotonics for exoplanet detection. The non-NASA applications include spectroscopy, optical communications, and quantum computing.nbsp;The offerors, Aktiwave LLC, and the research institution, Rochester Institute of Technology, are well-positioned to execute the AWG requirements and explore possible 3D integration with other photonic functions, such as photonic lanterns. The team has demonstrated ULI-based waveguides, beam splitters, and waveguide lasers on various material platforms.nbsp;
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2023
NASA
Femtosecond Laser Inscription of 3D Waveguide Beam Splitters and Integrated Photonic Circuits for Mid-IR sensing
Amount: $149,709 Topic: T8
We propose to develop a three-dimensional (3D) mid-infrared (mid-IR) Photonic Lantern (PL) based on femtosecond laser inscription (FLI) technology. FLI of PLs allows converting the atmospheric seeing-limited signals captured by the telescope into diffraction-limited signals. A linear arrangement of the single-mode outputs can be further realized to form the virtual input slit of a spectrograph. The inherent 3D nature, scalability, and the ability to integrate many on-chip functions make FLI an attractive fabrication technique for photonic integrated circuits (PIC), as opposed to the multi-step planar waveguide technologies relying on costly, large-scale microelectronics foundry techniques. The FLI of a 3D, 1x8, mid-infrared waveguide beam splitter and a 1x8 photonic lantern will be demonstrated during the project#39;s Phase I and II period. Three technical objectives are defined: 1:nbsp; Determine the optimum geometry for a 1x8 waveguide splitter. Objective. 2:nbsp; Experimentally investigate the impact of laser parameters and WBS geometry on WBS performance. .and 3:nbsp; Demonstrate a 1x8 waveguide beam splitter operating in the mid-infrared region. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to establish an FLI technology platform for fabricating integrated photonic circuits.The FLI-based, low SWaP PIC technology will be useful for NASA in lidar receiver for new Earth Science measurements such as the detection of carbon monoxide, free-space laser communications, mid-infrared heterodyne spectroscopy, and astrophotonics for exoplanet detection. The non-NASA applications include spectroscopy, optical communications, medical and clinical research, quantum computing, quantum information, and quantum metrology.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2022
NASA
Monolithic Q-switched waveguide laser fabricated by ultrafast laser inscription for pulsed lidar source
Amount: $149,991 Topic: S11
We plan to develop a monolithic Q-switched Waveguide Laser, using ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) technology. The proposed prototype is enabled by a Q-switched operation of waveguide realized by ULI inside diffusion-bonded laser media. Owing to its flexibility, ease for integration, and three-dimension nature, ULI of waveguides in laser materials and dielectric media enables transformative lidar system architectures.The proposed device integrates three components through direct ULI of waveguide inside two diffusion-bonded crystals as active laser media and as saturable absorber for Q-switching. The laser cavity is ended by a dichroic dielectric coating at the input and the output sides. This architecture will result in a monolithic nanosecond pulsed laser at 1064 nm leading to a low-cost, compact, and durable solution.The waveguide structure leads to better confinement and excellent overlap between pump and laser modes over the entire length of the media. This will lead to small lasing thresholds, high slope efficiency, and high output power.The proposed device addresses NASArsquo;s wavelength of interest for aerosol detection. The prototype and its technological translation and implementation are interesting for alignment-free, low-cost, weight, and power requirement of small platforms and applications, overcoming the drawbacks of current microchip laser systems for lidars. In the future, this will lead to more robust integrated ULI-based lidar systems at other wavelengths from near-surface, airborne, and spaceborne platforms.The offeror, Aktiwave LLC, is exceptionally well aligned for the technological development and commercialization of ultrafast-laser-based fabrications. Recently, the offeror demonstrated the lowest threshold and high slope efficiency ULI waveguide-based Nd:YAG continuous-wave laser at 1064 nm.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2022
NASA
Femtosecond-Laser-Based Welding for the Fabrication and Integration of Lidar Lasers
Amount: $124,995 Topic: S1
This proposal innovates an ultrafast laser welding (UFLW) system and processes that provide epoxy-free bonding of optical and mechanical components suitable for lidar sources in the space environment. This proposal responds to SBIR subtopic S1.01 Lidar Remote Sensing Technologies, aiming at improving instrumentsrsquo; compactness, reliability, lifetime, and long-term performance. It will develop the UFLW technology from the theoretical and experimental standpoints with three objectives: (I) Theoretically investigate the physical mechanism of UFLW to predict weld geometry and thermal stress. (II)Experimentally investigate the impact of focusing conditions and inter-substrate gap height on weld geometry and bond strength. (III) Demonstrate effective UFLW of glass-to-glass/crystal and glass/crystal to metal. The simulations on ultrafast laser propagation, nonlinear absorption, plasma generation, heat accumulation, and melt zone formation will be conducted, predicting welding geometry. The effect of focusing conditions, scanning speed, and gap height on weld geometry and bond strength will be experimentally investigated. Optimum processing parameters for bonding the proposed glass/metal/crystal materials will be determined. Bond strength and weld geometry will be characterized and reported. UFLW will enable monolithic lasers and increase the integrity and durability of space-borne instruments. It will also benefit commercial sensors and advance very high Speed datacom amp; communications links via advanced electronics/photonics integration. The success of this project has high potential to enable the US to become the international leader of the emerging digital manufacturing sector enabled by ultrafast lasers. The offeror, Aktiwave LLC, is exceptionally well aligned with the goals and aspirations of the SBIR program, possessing leading expertise and capability in lasers and ultrafast-laser-based welding, polishing and structuring of optical materials.
Tagged as:
SBIR
Phase I
2020
NASA
Integrated Mid-Infrared Sources Enabled by Waveguides Written with Femtosecond Lasers
Amount: $748,978 Topic: T8
This proposal addresses, for the first time, the demonstration of integrated mid-infrared sources based on waveguiding in a bonded solid-state laser material and periodically poled nonlinear material. A focused femtosecond laser beam allows for precisely localized modification of the refractive index of a material, therefore enabling to create waveguiding structures. The offeror has demonstrated femtosecond-laser-inscribed singlemode waveguide in Nd:YAG with record-low propagation loss of 0.2dB/cm. The inscription technique was optimized by their comprehensive numerical modeling ability. nbsp;A single continuous waveguide will be inscribed in a laser-bonded Nd:YAG substrate and a periodically poled crystal, then integrated with a tunable laser in the near infrared. The resulting small mode size leads to efficient lasing in the laser material and efficient difference frequency generation via nonlinear wavemixing in the periodically poled element. This will enable the manufacturing of compact, tunable, mid-infrared laser sources with excellent spectral and spatial quality and low size, weight and power for NASA and non-NASA applications.The targeted range of wavelengths, between 3 and 5 micrometers, corresponds to absorption lines of several functional groups, and the tunable monochromatic mid-infrared source can therefore be integrated in a large range of instruments that monitor species such as formaldehyde, methane, ethylene, carbon and nitrogen oxides, by absorption spectroscopy. The developed architecture is also compatible with sum-frequency generation, allowing the development of tunable sources in the visible. The proposed technology enables the ultimate 3D fabrication of integrated photonics circuits via combining passive and active media such as waveguide lasers, detectors, modulators, and optical interconnects. The offeror has attracted $2.3 million financial commitment from Coherent, Toptica, etc for joint development/support of the proposed technology.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase II
2020
NASA
Femtosecond-Laser Fabrication of Waveguides in Laser Materials
Amount: $123,234 Topic: T8
This proposal includes, for the first time, integrated theoretical models and experimental investigations to simulate and demonstrate femtosecond-laser-fabricated waveguides in crystalline dielectric materials. The numerical models will predict refractive-index changes potentially induced by self-focusing, heat accumulation, thermal stress, plasma formation and relaxation, and ablation. The influence of focal conditions and laser parameters (pulse energy, wavelength, repetition rate, focal spot size, and scanning speed) on waveguide quality and geometry will be theoretically and experimentally investigated via sensitivity studies. The index modulation will be evaluated for the three major waveguide-design configurations (Type I, II, and III) using matrices of laser parameters. The effectiveness of the three types of waveguide configurations will be compared for laser materials. To prepare for Phase II, the technical feasibility of producing waveguide lasers will be accessed through numerical modeling. Concepts for developing a waveguide laser will be identified. This innovation will enable the fabrication of low-loss optical waveguides for integrated photonic circuits with the integrated active and passive devices on the micron scale. It will provide weight, power and cost reductions for tele-communications, advanced data centers, and free-space communications. The femtosecond-laser-enabled compact three-dimensional waveguides and waveguide-laser sources provide a unique platform for versatile photonic applications to remote sensing, analog RF, quantum computing and biomedical monitoring, and others.
Tagged as:
STTR
Phase I
2018
NASA